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Contents
"Let verse run smoothly, polished with fine pumice."
-Propertius

Introduction v

Table of Characters vii

Unit Outline ix

Special Note x

Acknowledgments and Sources xi

1 Adam 1
"A canner exceedingly canny" vowel focus /ae/

2 Edna and Edward 15
"Edna and Edward, the elves" vowel focus /e/

3 Amy 27
"Amy the grape was her name" vowel focus /ey/

4 Rita 39
"There was a young lady from Crete" vowel focus /iy/

5 Billy 51
"A carrier pigeon named Billy" vowel focus /i/

Review Lesson 66

6 Gus 67
"A glutton who came from the Rhine" vowel focus /u/

7 Oscar 81
"An ostrich named Oscar would try" vowel focus /a/

8 Paul 93
"There was a young fellow named Paul" vowel focus /O/

9 Joe 105
"Joe'd rather have fingers than toes" vowel focus /ow/

10 Roy 119
"There was a young fellow from Boise" vowel focus /oy/

Review Lesson 132

11 Brooke 133
"There was a young girl from Asturia " vowel focus /u/

12 Louis 147
"Louis made quite a to-do" vowel focus /uw/

13 Ulysses 159
"Ulysses, a mule from Cathay" vowel focus /yuw/

14 Ms. Brown 173
"A gal who weighed many an ounce" vowel focus /aw/

15 Ivy 185
"There was a young lady from Niger" vowel focus /ay/

16 Ursula and Ernie 199
"She frowned and said, "Now, Mr.!" vowel focus /ur/

Review Lesson 212

Appendixes
A Basic Features of English Pronunciation 213

B Suggestions for Using the Text 218
For the Student 218
For the Teacher 219

C Answers to Exercises 220

Introduction
Pronunciation Activities: Vowels in Limericks from Adam to Ursula is especially suitable for advanced beginners and low intermediate level students, although students at higher proficiency levels will also find it very useful for polishing their pronunciation.

There are sixteen units in the text, and each unit features a limerick - a short poem. The limerick, in turn, focuses on the sound and spellings of one of the 16 vowel sounds of English. The limerick also offers excellent practice with stress, reduction, linking, intonation, and rhythm. The book is, moreover, an integrated skills text that offers lively and entertaining work on all skill areas (Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing) within each
unit.

The limerick is a light verse form that is appealing because of its
humor, wordplay, and rhythm. We aren't sure of exactly how the limerick began. Some people think it was a form of popular song that Irish soldiers sang as they returned from France to Limerick, Ireland, in the eighteenth century.

The rhythm of limericks is very regular, and each limerick follows the same rhythmic pattern. Because of this, limericks offer a clear example of how stress works in English. Each limerick has five lines. The first, second, and fifth lines have three beats (stressed syllables) that are loud and long. The third and fourth lines have two beats. The other syllables are not stressed and are spoken quietly and quickly.

di DUM di DUM di DUM
di DUM di DUM di DUM
di DUM di DUM
di DUM di DUM
di DUM di DUM di DUM

Because of the importance of the stressed syllable (DUM) in English verse and speech, each line of the verse can have several unstressed syllables (di):

didi DUM didi DUM didi DUM

In short, the limerick is an excellent device for working on both the
individual sounds of English (segmentals) and the rhythm,phrasing, and melody (suprasegmentals) of ordinary speech. And limericks are fun.

The appendixes contain a brief technical description of the basic
features of English pronunciation, some suggestions on how to use the book, and answers to some of the exercises.

A cd recording to accompany this book is available. Each of the 16 units includes the Limerick, the Story, and the Letters to the main character of the limerick. You may wish to listen to the cd before you work on these three sections of the unit, or you may choose to listen after you have worked on the unit, or you can listen both before and after.

Teachers: It would be a good idea to play the cd for yourself
before you teach the unit to be sure that your pronunciation is close to the model on the cd. Keep in mind that there are distinct differences throughout North America, and your pronunciation may differ slightly from that on the tape. The speakers on the tape are from the northern part of the United States.

If you are a non-native speaker of English, you may want to preview the recorded model before teaching the unit in your class As suggested above, you can use the cd in a variety of ways. The best way to use the cd will depend on you, your students, and the context in which you are teaching. Please note that the book can be used either with or without the cd.